Thursday, 22 October 2009

• CMDish: Christian Music News or Tabloid?

  There are all sorts of music and celebrity magazines out there. Some, like Rolling Stone, are cutting edge, often hard-hitting, with news stories and updates to enlighten the music-minded. Then there's Star Magazine and TMZ, both of whom cover stories of what's happening and breaking in the area of music and celebrity, but with a less noble purpose; they pretty much seek only to spread rumor and gossip.

  So why would a website devoted solely to Christian music compare itself not to a high-end music magazine but to a tabloid? That's what Joanne Brokaw of Gospel Music Soundcheck wants to know. In her recent article, she shares that the new Christian music website, CMDish.com, described itself in a promotional email as, “a 'mild mannered version of TMZ.com, but dedicated exclusively to the happenings of artists in the Christian community.'”

  Judging from what content there is on the site so far, I'd have to say it's extremely tame. On its front page, you can read about a member of MercyMe going to the dentist, Amy Grant's fundraiser yard sale, and pranks Christian bands have pulled on the road. None of these are music news per se, but they are interesting reads nonetheless. 

  As Brokaw points out, however, there is “a very fine line between sharing news and spreading gossip.” Another CMDish post discusses Natalie Grant's kidney pains, having only her Twitter updates as sources. Of course, her updates are revealing enough that CMDish has no need to speculate as to the cause of her medical predicament, but it certainly begs the question as to whether or not the site will go to greater lengths if the information the writers or editors receive is less descriptive.

  In the end, I suppose the question isn't so much “is CMDish a tabloid?” as it is “does Christian music need a tabloid?” If you believe it's newsworthy and the fan's right to know what is going on in the perhaps intimate details of a Christian musician's life, then maybe there is room for a tabloid-esque Christian music website. So far, the site is, as it describes itself, mild to say the least, but it certainly opens doors to the possibility of more provocative content in the future.

  Do you think there is room in Christian music for a tabloid? What sort of content do you think would be appropriate for such a website? Where should sites like CMDish draw the line between news and gossip?

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